Water drop effect on leather

[leatheroo]

I found this technique on an airbrush forum and decided to give it a go on a scrap of leather. The effect that i was trying to get is the look of water drops sitting on the surface of the leather.

I first stained the leather and then gave it a good seal with a leather finish so the leather repelled water. I used a water spray bottle to spray the leather so there was water droplets all over. Next you get down at the level of the leather and using an airbrush, spray white so that the white hits the side of the water drops but not the leather if possible. You then turn the piece around and spray from the opposite direction with a color that is one shade darker than the base color. What you should have is white on one side of the water drops and the dark color on the other side. Next you let the water evaporate and the color will remain.

This was my first attempt and the white seemed to go all over and i cant see the dark, but maybe practice would help.

[craftsman827]

WOW Roo Thats WAY COOL !

IT certanly LOOKS like WATER !

NICE JOB ! & THANKS FOR SHARING

Edited May 17, 2008 by craftsman827

[Beaverslayer]

Real neat Roo, I've seen this done on fancy cars before, never thought about doing it ob leather.

Ken

[Spider]

With the right colors I can see a nice frog skin texture being done with this. Cool innovative way of thinking Roo.

[David]

I found this technique on an airbrush forum and decided to give it a go on a scrap of leather. The effect that i was trying to get is the look of water drops sitting on the surface of the leather.

I first stained the leather and then gave it a good seal with a leather finish so the leather repelled water. I used a water spray bottle to spray the leather so there was water droplets all over. Next you get down at the level of the leather and using an airbrush, spray white so that the white hits the side of the water drops but not the leather if possible. You then turn the piece around and spray from the opposite direction with a color that is one shade darker than the base color. What you should have is white on one side of the water drops and the dark color on the other side. Next you let the water evaporate and the color will remain.

This was my first attempt and the white seemed to go all over and i cant see the dark, but maybe practice would help.

leatheroo,

I too have seen this before but never on leather! What a great idea and great thinking "outside the box" I really like this. Question on the colors used...the leather has already been sealed so I am guessing that the white and darker color are cova color? Is that correct?

David Theobald

[leatheroo]

hi david, the base color on the leather was 'whiskey', the white was just acylic white and the darker color the whiskey with a little black added. I think spirit dye (i dont have any) or enamel or oil paint would work better as it would sit on the outside of the water drops. I think my paint spread across the water drop. I would also use less white next time and i dont think the leather dye i had (darker color) attached to the water very well. I found the effect interesting and i sure the look could be improved with practice. As to the use, well i sure someone will come up with a project to use it on. I like spiders idea of frog skin.

Edited May 17, 2008 by leatheroo

[Regis]

roo,

Cool out-of-the-box thinking. Do you think the white stayed on the water and the dark sunk through the water (so the white dried down over it)? I like the effect that you got. Plus you prodded us to think broader and look at other art techniques to apply.

Thanks

[Dagr]

Very cool idea! hmmm, now where did that long lost airbrush go....

[TomBanwell]

Wow, a great effect! I'm wondering how you would use it on a mask however. Seems to me the leather needs to lay flat for the water to stay in place?

[ArtS]

I see the dark. It gives the shadows to the drops and makes them look 3D. Really cool idea!

Art

[CitizenKate]

Cool effect! Thanks for sharing that, Roo.

Kate

[Hilly]

Great idea, Roo!

Water drops, frog skin, bubbles, fizzy drinks....

[Regis]

roo,

Not as simple as it looks... I tried it without any luck and not near as good as you. Air simply blew the water flat and away. I'm not too profecient with airbrush so there is probably just more to it than I thought.

[Roger]

that is really cool!

i think it looks grate! i can't imagine it looking any better

[dai malbrook]

hi david, the base color on the leather was 'whiskey', the white was just acylic white and the darker color the whiskey with a little black added. I think spirit dye (i dont have any) or enamel or oil paint would work better as it would sit on the outside of the water drops. I think my paint spread across the water drop. I would also use less white next time and i dont think the leather dye i had (darker color) attached to the water very well. I found the effect interesting and i sure the look could be improved with practice. As to the use, well i sure someone will come up with a project to use it on. I like spiders idea of frog skin.

That's a neat idea, i can't wait to try it. I'm pretty sure some form of enamel paint would give you a result closer to what you expect. It looks like the acrylic just got sucked into the water and dried in the shape of the drop rather than just being on one side. It still looks good, especially with the shadow effect from the overspray. I could swear that there is actually somethin sitting onto of leather. It just looks a bit more like round salt than water.

[Thom]

Hi Roo,

What a neat technique. I will be watching closely for you to perfect your discovery and the further applications you might find.

Regards,

Thom